AMHERST, Mass. - Peter Lenes scored with 23 seconds remaining in overtime to lift No. 13 Vermont to a 3-2 victory over No. 17 UMass Tuesday night at the Mullins Center. With 56 seconds to play in regulation, Viktor Stalberg scored his sixth goal of the season, before Lenes scored the game-winner in the extra session. Chris Davis and Justin Braun scored goals for UMass. Rob Madore made 23 saves in goal for Vermont (8-3-2, 5-3-1 HEA) while Dan Meyers made 28 saves in net for UMass. The Minutemen will be back in action Friday when they host St. Lawrence at 7 PM from the Mullins Center.
The Catamounts outshot Massachusetts 31-25. UMass (6-5-1, 4-4-1 HEA) went 2-for-2 on the power play, snapping a previous 0-for-19 slump on the man-advantage for the Minutemen. Vermont went 0-for-3 on the power play.
The Minutemen came out hard at the start of the first period, but Vermont picked up its tempo as the period wore on. UMass, however, was able to cash in with 4:39 to play in the stanza when Davis scored his fifth goal of the season.
After Kevan Miller was sent to the box for a holding-the-stick penalty, the UMass power play went to work trying to take the lead prior to intermission. The Minutemen did just that when Cory Quirk fired a passed a pass across the Catamount zone to James Marcou. Marcou then threw the puck into traffic in the crease where Davis redirected it past Madore for the 1-0 lead.
Vermont had some chances of its own during the stanza, but Meyers was there to stop all six Catamount shots. Vermont's best chance came when Brayden Irwin fired a one-timer from the left faceoff dot. But Meyers went post to post to make the save.
Vermont carried the momentum during the second period, outshooting the Minutemen 9-7 and hitting two posts. Massachusetts kept its composure, however, and netted their second power play goal of the game when Braun scored his second goal of the season three minutes into the period. After playing catch with Matt Irwin at the blue line, Braun ripped home a shot from the point that got past Madore for the 2-1.
The Catamounts got the game back to one when Dean Strong notched his first goal of the season when he sniped a shot from the right faceoff dot that beat Meyers over the shoulder. Corey Carlson was credited with the assist.
The Catamounts continued their pressure during the third period, outshooting the Minutemen 14-7. Vermont kept the puck in the UMass end for a majority of the frame, testing Meyers and the UMass defense. In the final minute of play, Vermont was just about to pull Madore when Stalberg buried a one-timer five-hole from the slot with 56 second to play in regulation.
Vermont outshot UMass 2-1 in the overtime when Lenes scored with 23 seconds remaining in the extra frame. Lenes received a pass from Drew MacKenzie and slid the puck past Meyers from the bottom of the right faceoff dot.